A Midnight's Hell
by Russhka
Summary: A Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Phantasia Cross-over. Cress wakes up from a dream concerning the events that come 2000 years after the World Regeneration. The sinking of Thor, and the destruction of Odin and Fenrir. But who are the men that ended the war?
1. Dream

**Several thousand years ago in the ancient past, three kingdoms battled for our continent. The three kingdoms were Odin, Fenrir, and Thor. After Thor was sunk to the bottom of the sea by a meteor strike, mysterious men appeared and put an end to the hopeless war, by annihilating the remaining two kingdoms.**

___

_Cress sauntered through a magnificent forest. The aroma of the blooming sakuras was unmistakable in the spring breeze. With a curious hand, he reached out to touch one of the gorgeous pink cherry blossoms. His itching fingers soothed with peace of mind as he felt the silky softness of the petal he now clutched in his very palm. _

_He stopped to look at his surroundings, for the forest was somewhat familiar. The forest of spirits? Yes. The Forest of spirits, this is where he was. He continued his stroll through the greenery, before he knew it; he ended up face to face with Yggdrasill. He placed his hand on the trunk of majestic tree. A slight smile graced his lips as he gently stroked the bark; his palm started tingling lightly from admiration. _

_Suddenly, he felt the presence of another behind him, he turned around._

_A boy with spiky, chestnut brown, hair, and deep brown eyes stood before him with the same admiration etched onto his face. _

_"Who are you?" He asked, but no reply came from the boy clad in red._

_"Who are you?!" He asked again, but with more force, still no answer._

_He turned his attention back to the tree to get another eye-full before turning back to the other, but he had disappeared. _

_Who was that boy? Why was he here? Many similar questions raced through his mind, but all went without answers. He looked back up at the tree, but the magnificent tree that he first laid eyes on, had died and withered away, leaving nothing but a seemingly ancient stump. _

_What happened? What was going on? The tree was fine a minute ago! _

_He then saw the same boy again, grieving over the fallen tree, and what seemed like... wings? fluttering on his back. The most amazing bright blue wings that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. What was he? What did he want? The same exact questions seemed to repeat over and over in his mind._

_He turned his attention back to Yggdrasill; what would happen now that the tree of life has died off completely? Would the world die from a mana deficiency? _

_He knew that the crops would wither, that the land would slowly die, that people would die from starvation... the world would be thrown into chaos. What would happen then? Will the human race become extinct? Or would we find a way to survive? _

_Then there was blackness...._

_He was floating in darkness, was he dead? Where was he? What happened?_

_____

Cress jolted awake; his body tingling. He quickly scanned the area, and realized that it was just a dream. Just a dream? No. It was to realistic, to terrifying, to be just a dream. But if it wasn't just a dream, what was it?

He quickly brushed it off to the side as if it were nothing, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else to it, but he wouldn't worry about it right now. It could wait until the morning, right?

He laid back down, and slowly started to drift back into his slumber, hoping that it would be peaceful and not disturbed with any more nightmares.

-------

**A/N: The first four chapter may be a little bit slow, but I can assure you it won't be like that for long!**


	2. Reality

_With the flamberge clutched in his right hand, and the Vorpal in his left, Lloyd executed strike after strike, moving with ease, perfecting the technique that he had been taught multiple times. He paused, those crimson eyes still staring down at him. He looked up to meet his father's gaze, and to his surprise, he was congratulated with a slight smile and a small chuckle. Lloyd then returned the compliment with a big, cheesy grin._

_____

"Lloyd! Lloyd, wake up!" Lloyd reluctantly opened his eyes, ever so slightly, to reveal a sapphire-haired half-elf hovering over him. "Yuan...?" He muttered, still in a daze.

As he struggled to regain his full consciousness, he noticed that his body had become completely numb, as if he were asleep for past two millennia. (Hypothetically of course) He blinked a few times before breaking out of his trance. "Yuan...where are we?" He sat up to get a better look at his surroundings, but immediately regretted the action as a pain shot through his chest. He winced at the painful sensation and clamped his eyes shut.

"Are you alright, Lloyd?"

He nodded.

As soon as the pain subsided, when he even dared to open eyes, he noticed the mighty tree, Yggdrasill standing tall, firm, and ever so grand. _Yggdrasill? _He wondered.

"Yuan...what happened?" He scanned the area further, and noticed the presence, or rather absence, of the purple-clad Seraph. "Where's dad?"

Not knowing what or how to tell Lloyd what happened to him and his father, Yuan simply smiled and offered Lloyd a hand.

"Can you stand?" He asked.

Lloyd shook his head. "Yuan, tell me where dad is!"

Yuan turned towards the tree and paused for a moment before turning back to Lloyd; trying to think of a way to explain Lloyd's rather..._unique _situation. "Do you remember the war?" He asked.

Lloyd nodded.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"Well..." He said trying to gather his thoughts. "It was December second...It was the end of a three-day peace treaty between Fenrir and Odin...so, they were preparing for war..." He paused.

"It was also the day when the comet Samier was supposed to strike Thor." Yuan continued.

"But the research lab said it was supposed to barely miss the planet, right?"

"That is correct."

"I remember that the only way to end the war, was to destroy the three kingdoms...so, we were also preparing for battle..."

Yuan nodded

"The last thing I remember, was that I was on Thor...I remember watching a big ball of fire heading our way... and then pain...and...blackness...and then..." Lloyd subconsciously reached to touch the area where he felt the sharp pain before.

He turned to look at Yuan.

Yuan shook his head and then spoke "That event happened over 2000 years ago..." He paused. "Before the commet hit, you were caught in a suprise attack that was ment for the president of Thor... You were stabbed several times in the heart. Kratos tried to save you... But the commet hit while you two were still on Thor... you both were killed in the blast." There was a hint of sadness in his voice.

"W-what? Killed? That can't be! Then why am I here?"

"To be honest, I don't quite know, Lloyd..."

"Why isn't dad with me?"

"Lloyd....Come with me...I'll take you back to the base..."

____

**Sorry for the crappy chapter... I promise I'll make it better**


	3. Relief

Cress slowly walked to the forest of spirits in the early hours of the morning, leaving Mint and Chester behind at the Inn in Euclid. It was a beautiful day, quite like the one in his dream; the sun was shimmering beautifully, the wind was blowing gently, and the cherry blossoms where fluttering away with the wind giving them the appearance of a light pink snow fall. But Cress was too anxious to notice - wondering about what lurks within the forest of spirits.

He entered the forest; the atmosphere became heavy and dark, the trees acted as a canopy over the forest, preventing any sun light from leaking through. The forest no longer held it's pleasant, happy, vibe; it was replaced by an ominous, threatening feeling. He braced himself for what was to come. Perhaps it was a bad idea to come here alone? This could turn into a battle, thus Mint's healing abilities would become useful and Chester's arrows would keep the enemy away...but maybe he was just being paranoid....The angel seemed harmless enough.

...Angel?...

He didn't even know if that kid was an angel...

He slowly made his way to where Yggdrasil stands; expecting to see a kid, about his age, garbed in red and with pair bright blue wings attached to his back. But the grove was empty. He was completely and totally alone.

_'It was just a dream...'_ He sighed.

Though dream it may be, he still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to it, but there was no use pondering about it in a forest full of monsters. He decided that it would be best to travel back to Euclid. There's no point in waiting here...

The trip back was much more pleasant! Though doubt still lingered in the back of his mind, he felt better...lighter...relieved that he finally got that out of his system. He felt as though he could finally breathe. The air felt fresher, the sun shone brighter; it's so odd what a silly little dream could to the nerves.

He reached the village. Hopefully Mint and Chester were still asleep; if not, then he would have some explaining to do...And that was the last thing on his mind at the moment. He made his way to the Inn and quietly entered; luckily they were all still asleep. He set his swords down on a chair next to his bed, took off his shoes and armor, and layed down. He leaned over to his side so that he was facing the two swords.

'_the flameberge and vorpal, huh?' _

Staring at the two swords he couldn't help but wonder what they have gone through; being the two ancient swords that ended battle on Thor and all.

The flameberge was a beautiful scarlet red sword with a very unique hilt, and it's blade was shaped like a flame. It seemed to give off a red aura that swirled and twisted like fire, and was warm to touch.

The Vorpal, however, was a deep shade of blue; it's blade was thin, but widened and became jagged at the tip. It was cold to touch, but not enough to effect the preformance of battle. Both very powerful and useful swords.

But when combined by Orgin, the two blades formed the eternal sword...And that, was the true prize. An even more beautiful, silver sword with a stripe of glowing pink down the middle and a golden hilt. It was even more powerful and had the ability to change time and space. Just wielding that power gave Cress the chills. Oh, what he could do with that type of power; the things he could change, the things he could actually prevent from happening...but all that came with consequences. Some good, most bad, and he wasn't willing to find out. Maybe every thing is where it should be and doesn't need changing. And he left it at that.

He slowly drifted into a deep sleep...unaware of the things to come.


	4. Plans?

Lloyd stared blankly at the wall; he was in complete and utter disbelief. 2000 years? That was impossible! There's no way that he could have been dead for 2000 years. He remembered clearly that just the other day he was out training with his father; out in that grassy field near Ymir. And what happened to his father? Why wasn't Kratos with him? Was he brought back for a reason? Was he supposed to do something? No. That was absurd. What use was he?

Lloyd had many questions that went without answers. But he was tired. He just needed some rest...some time to sort things out.

He directed his attention to the bed on the opposite side of the room. He slowly got up and walked over to it. He yawned as he laid down, not even bothering to take off his shoes.

He allowed his mind to wonder for awhile...thinking things over carefully...But something just dawned on him...'_I'm a 4000 year-old man now...'_ he thought, _'creepy...' _He chuckled as he fell into a deep sleep.

___

"I'm worried..." Yuan said pacing back and forth in his office, "These events are just to...odd..."

"What are you going to do?"

"I...don't know..." He replied to the Renegade. "Let's just watch things carefully for now..."

"Yes Sir! And the tree? What do you want us to do about the tree?"

"Watch that carefully as well...If it gets worse...alert me immediately!"

"Right!"

With that, the Renegade set off.

_'The great tree is dying...what am I going to do?' _he wondered, _'Was Lloyd brought back for that purpose? This is all to much to be just mere coincidence...' _He bounced down onto his chair, placing his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand, he sighed. _'But why just Lloyd? Why not Kratos as well? What is our lady Martel planning?' _


	5. Dreams Again?

_It was nighttime; the smell of sea water slowly engulfed them as they began their decent onto Thor's beach. Cress could feel his wings spread, immediately slowing him down from his rapid decline from a height of about 2, 300 feet in the air…wait---wings? Since when did he have wings?_

_He cautiously looked from side to side, trying to figure out his situation before he reached the sandy beaches; not noticing his comrades closely following behind him with parachutes of some sort. _

_He landed with a soft thud; so did the other people who were with him. _

"_Lloyd, over here…This way is clear." One of the men said._

_Lloyd? Who's Lloyd? Who was he talking to? _

_He took a quick glance around trying to figure out who this Lloyd person was._

"_Lloyd, are you listening to me?"_

_Then it struck him. The man was talking to him._

"_Me?" asked Cress._

"_Yes you. Do you see any other Lloyd around here?" _

"_Ummm--"_

"_Stop the bickering you two, you'll blow our cover." _

"_S-sorry…" Cress stammered._

_He followed his men closely…having absolutely no idea were he was going…or what he was supposed to be doing. _

_Coming close to a building – a store of sorts – he spotted himself in one of the larger windows; he was tall... about 5 feet 11 inches, his hair was a chestnut brown, and so were his eyes. _

'_That angel,' he realized. He was that angel he saw before! So the angel must be named Lloyd then? Finally! He found out something more about this…angel…but still… why was he here? Maybe if he played along a little while longer he would find his answer. _

"_Okay it's clear over here too." The same guy called. The rest of them nodded and followed." _

_They repeated the same procedure for a little while longer before they came to a halt._

"_Alright, Lloyd," another man called "the president's office is deeper inside the city… lead us to him." _

"_Huh?" Cress said worriedly. What was he supposed to do? He had absolutely no idea where he was going. _

"_You said you knew Thor like the back of your hand…did you not?" _

_Thor? Yeah of course he knew Thor…he's been through that underground maze at least a dozen times. _

_He nodded._

"_Then take us to the president's office" _

_The president's office…? What the heck was he talking about? Thor never had a president...yet alone a president's office…Unless he meant that ornate room in the underground maze then he could easily take them there._

"_Right!" _

_Quickly fighting their way through the various traps and machines they reached that ornate room without much trouble at all. _

_In the back of the room there was a large desk stacked with many papers and books; sitting in a chair behind the mess of papers was a small man with snow white hair…who was obviously asleep. _

_Cress was the first one to enter the room; day-dreaming and looking in awe at his surroundings. _

'_It so odd…this place looks so much different then before…' he thought. _

"_Lloyd! What are you doing!?"_

" _Huh?"_

"_Watch out!" _

_But it was too late. He was tackled by a large man and brought down to the floor. The man pinned his arms and legs roughly against the hardwood flooring. _

"_Get off!" he shouted. _

_The man only laughed as he pulled out a small dagger and raised it so that it was pointing towards Cress' heart. _

_Using all of his strength, Cress managed to doge the blow and slip away from the man's grasp. He pulled out his two swords and got into a fighting stance. _

"_Lloyd!" His ally called again, "Go, we'll hold them off! Get the others!" _

"_Right!" He nodded, and ran towards the exit; he managed to get above ground without much difficulty._

_He turned back around to make sure that he wasn't being followed…but that was the biggest mistake he could have ever made. _

_There was a yell behind him and loud footsteps that went along with it. He turned around to see a young boy, about his age, running at him with a sword in hand. Cress tried to doge that attack as well but it was too late. Cress felt a sharp pain shoot through his chest and eventually made its way to his back; the boy had plunged his sword straight through Cress' heart…repeating the stabbing motion a few more times the boy got up and left; leaving Cress to die by himself._

_He was in agonizing pain; it felt like all the feeling in his body had left and rushed to that one spot. It was a very unpleasant sensation; and to his relief, a sensation he would have to endure only for a little while longer…but that little while longer seemed to have lasted an eternity._

"_Lloyd!" He heard a voice call to him. He was then pulled into somebody's lap and hugged tightly. "Lloyd…it's going to be alright…don't worry." the voice said again; Cress looked up. It was a tall man with auburn hair and ruby eyes…he was crying…The man placed his hand on Cress' wound; Cress flinched but almost immediately got some relief as an odd pressure pushed against his chest. The man smiled as soon as he saw the relief in his 'son's' eyes._

_Just then there was a huge rumble that seemed to shake all of Thor…it was kind of like an earthquake; Cress then spotted a huge ball of fire was headed straight for them. But the man ignored it completely trying the best he could to heal his 'son'. Soon enough they, and all of Thor were engulfed in flames._

_______

"Cress, wake up!" He felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped into a sitting position screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Cress, are you alright?!" Mint asked, her hand still on his shoulder.

Cress looked around…He was in the Inn with Mint and a rather confused looking Chester.

'It was just a dream?'

"Yeah…I'm fine…"


	6. Meeting

It was late at night, everything was silent and peaceful. A light breeze rushed passed Lloyd as he lay in the grass lost in thought; the moonlight casting eerie shadows through the trees. It was still so hard to believe...he's been dead for the past 2000 years...It was just amazing to him....though....he wonders why he came back and all. Only time can tell that one. He let out a loud yawn; stretching as he did so and eventually falling into a deep, deep sleep.

---

Only a few miles away there was Cress gazing out into the night. Letting out a long, deep sigh as he jumped down from the ledge of the wall that he was sitting on; trekking out into the night trying to shake off the fatigue that plagued him. _I'm tired of doing nothing all day,_ he thought _I need to get out and do something. I'm not asking for a full-fledged adventure or anything...Just something more then lounging about in an Inn. _

Because none of the great heroes you read about in stories and fairy tales accomplished anything by sitting in an Inn all day...and Cress was one of thoes heroes. One who's story went go down in history and will be told by many people that are to come after his time. But none of those people who read his story centuries later will know about the adventure that is soon to come. For this event will change both the future and past as we know it. What we know to be good will stab us in the back and show us the true face of evil. An evil that is seemingly invincible. An evil that has triumphed over the many odds that were against him. An evil that will bring mass devastation to all those who he had protected in the past. But as of this moment. none of our heroes are aware of this evil...or how it came to be...Only time can tell when it will strike...Or how many people it will kill...

All they can do is wait...

---

An hour or so later, Lloyd woke up to the sound of feet approaching him from the distance; crushing twigs and leaves under it's weight. He quickly stood up and prepared to face the foe who dared approach him; unsheathing both of his swords. What could possibly attack him at this time of night? Lions? Tigers? Bears? Thieves? It was nothing that he couldn't handle, though.

So there he waited patiently for what ever was coming to show its self. But what came out of those bushes and trees was neither Lion nor Tiger, but Cress lost in thought meaning no harm or intrusion.

As soon as he realized this Lloyd sighed in relief, earning a puzzled glare from Cress.

"Y-you!" said Cress "It's you!"

"...It's me?"

"Yes! It's you!"

"Alright..." Lloyd blinked in surprise - not knowing exactly what was going on - as he slid his swords back into their casing.

That's when Cress noticed the swords that Lloyd had possessed. _Those...Are my swords...?_


End file.
